Creative director Johnny Coca has cycled through several recognizable British-style archetypes for inspiration during his four-year tenure at Mulberry. Lately he’s been in the mood for polished punks, and today he continued that streak at the brand’s Spring 2020 presentation in Paris. The check and plaid trench coats and biker jackets of last season took on vibrant red-white-and-blue tones this time around and were finished with a bit more attitude thanks to heavy-metal chain belts.
Still, accessories are the main event here, and they were hardly what you’d call anarchic. Aside from a sprinkling of pyramid studs, the new styles erred on the traditional side with the prettiest of the bunch printed with a new, romantic floral motif. The brand’s new Bayswater belted satchel had a classic feel that fell in line with the current yen for retro and reissued purses that have been surfacing at leather goods houses all over the map. Coca added a few customizable trimmings to his designs that could put him ahead in the game, however. Known as the Iris, the soft holdall bag has a detachable strap that comes in more than 30 different colors—if you factor in the varying size options, then the math is pretty compelling. With almost 200 possible iterations, there’s more room for a bag to have personality.
